“…I contacted you almost 4 years ago when my husband of 20
years, and the kindest, most supportive and best friend I've ever had, died
suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of 43. I contacted you soon
after and asked your thoughts about seeing a world famous medium and you said I
should do whatever might help. I have received many messages of support from
him since then in the form of readings from various mediums, a host of
coincidences and even sightings in my daily life. These have been a great help
in my embracing our eventually being reunited when I die. That said, I can't
apply the Course teachings to everything else and not this. If everything I experience
here is what I've asked for that means all of my husband’s messages are coming
from me and not him and that is crushing me. Literally. And now, the personal
thought system is constantly telling me that if I continue with my Course studies, my husband will disappear from my
memory because he was nothing…

“…My question is…does the holy spirit speak
quickly and first with lightning speed? I find I feel this voice may be the correct
voice since it sounds definite and inspired. The answer almost seems to come
out of nowhere and not even have thinking involved, just a kind of knowing…”
– AB The two voices speak
for different interpretations of the same thing simultaneously; or almost
simultaneously, for the ego always speaks first. – T-5.VI.3 The ego always speaks
first…The Holy Spirit does not speak first, but He always answers.– T-6.IV.1,3
As a rule, it is the ego that speaks with lightning speed. This
is especially true when you look on a person or situation or you are seeking an
answer. But sometimes when your mind is quiet and relaxed you may hear the Holy
Spirit spontaneously. You may hear words or you may have unformed thoughts that
seem to rise up into your conscious awareness and take form there.
It takes a while to sort out the Holy Spirit and the ego
(personal thought system) bec…

“…. Could
you please clarify the use of the term 'magic thoughts'?...” – TB (November
13, 2015) A
Course in Miracles
uses the concept of “magical thinking” in two ways. One form of magical
thinking is the belief that anything outside of you can make you whole and at
peace. For example, the belief that if you just had perfect health or the right
partner or enough money or if that person would change or if everyone just
believed as you do, etc. then you would be at peace. ACIM includes in this form
of magical thinking the idea that sickness is a form of problem solving. For
example, using illness as a way to get attention, to be a victim, to avoid a
situation, or as self-punishment to mitigate God’s punishment of you, etc. The
belief that the things that illness would get you “saves” you is a form of
magical thinking. The other form
of magical thinking in ACIM is the belief that change at the level of form is
caused at the level of form. For example, the use of medications or oth…

“During our
discussion (in the study group) of Lesson 68:’Love does not hold on to
resentment’, you made it abundantly clear that you personally could not follow
the part about seeing everyone as your friend because trying to do so made
resentment even stronger. What mattered, you said, was being in Truth, so
regardless how others showed up you would be at peace. And in the event that
someone was so dysfunctional, you could set up a boundary and still be at
peace. This made total sense to me and suited my own personality. What I can
now take out of that lesson is to think how resentment disturbs my peace; how
it reinforces my guilt and belief in a false god.What hangs me up
however, is that lesson 68 is quite clear when it tells us to see these others
‘as my friend’, when I know that doing so will be counterproductive. So I
choose to ignore it. Is the Course wrong here? Where else does it give ‘bad’ advice? Are we free to pick
and choose how to interpret it based on what feels comfort…

I have been a student of A Course in Miracles since 1984, a life coach since 2000, and a mentor for students of A Course in Miracles and 4 Habits for Inner Peace since 2006. You can learn more about me and what I offer at my website, www.acimmentor.com.